Last Stand - Lord General

Perhaps the hardest-to-use Hero in the entire game, the Lord General, in proud tradition of every game Relic has ever worked on that has the Imperial Guard in it seems to be one-dimensional and inefficient - and, insofar as his being a character one can just pick up and use, this is most-assuredly true. The Lord General, at a glance, sucks. His basic traits traits are abhorrent - no mobility boosting until level 20, poor support abilities until way late-game, limited build options, mediocre damage output in general, and no way to boost his HP, making him the most fragile hero in all of Last Stand.

One has to wonder if Relic pulled out all the stops in making the Lord General suck, in fact.

Sadly for Relic, if they did intend for him to just suck utterly, they failed, because there's many ways to make him viable, and this guide will show you just how powerful he can be. Using the Lord General involves using your brain and learning to delegate battlefield control - either to your minions, or to your teammates - and adapt on the fly. You cannot deal with enemies in the conventional fashion, and you need to fight smart to get anywhere with the guy. When properly leveled, the General's builds open up much more, and he becomes incrementally more fun to play with each and every level obtained.

There's a few things that the Lord General particularly excels at. One is fighting defensively; his ability to call in backup, set up turrets, and establishing killing fields means that when your team needs to hold ground, there's nobody better. Properly backed up, the Lord General can actually become a dominating force on the battlefield. The other is killing priority targets. From the get-go, the Lord General excels at murdering high-level threats like enemy heroes, Zoanthropes, and Wraithguards.

Armor

• Carapace Armor - Default
  • Armor Rating: 18
    • Default Armor. Sucks, yadda yadda yadda.

• Cadia-Pattern Carapace Armor - Level 1
  • Armor Rating: 125
  • +0.2/sec Energy Regeneration
    • This initial armor is remarkably useful, though it doesn't really come into its own until later. It provides excellent protection - indeed, the best of any armor for the General besides the Black Plate - and the energy regen boost is nice, though it's generally negligable in the long run.

• Master-Crafted Carapace Armor - Level 4
  • Armor Rating: 79
  • Trait: Fearless (Immune to Suppression)
  • Ability: Tarantula Heavy Bolter Turret (25 energy; Deploys a turret with heavy bolters that suppresses targets and does modestly good anti-infantry damage)
    • The first of the Turret Armors and arguably one of the most useful. The Heavy Bolter Turret is always helpful for suppressing enemies, this armor has decent protection, and it makes you Fearless as part of the bargain. It works well if your squad does AOE damage (Catachans, Flamer or Grenade Launcher Guardsmen).

• Artificer Carapace Armor - Level 8
  • Armor Rating: 72
  • Trait: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown)
• Ability: Tarantula Missile Turret (25 energy; deploys a turret with twin-linked missile launchers that does decent anti-armor damage and has strong knockback)
  • • The other of the commonly-used Turret Armors, this is a great alternative to the Heavy Bolter turret of the Master-Crafted Carapace Armor. Decent overall defense and the always-useful Unshakable trait combine with a turret that has better performance at killing vehicles and can disrupt infantry effetively. Whilst it tends to be not as useful as the Master-Crafted Armor, the added armor-punching of the Artificer can be a tremendous asset, depending on your loadout.

• Mordian-Pattern Carapace Armor - Level 12
  • Armor Rating: 37
  • Ability: Executioner Heavy Turret (40 energy; deploys an anti-infantry heavy turret that rapidly fires plasma blasts. These blasts deal area-of-effect damage at a long range)
    • At a glance, a heavy turret with a Plasma Cannon seems like a wonderful idea. Sadly, it's nowhere near as awesome as it sounds; the turret is bugged and does barely any damage due to lacking any armor penetration, to the point where the Heavy Bolter turret out-damages it. Providing barely any protection and with a turret that costs much more than the smaller pair to further drive home the fail, the Mordian-Pattern Armor is to be avoided.

• Armageddon-Pattern Carapace Armor - Level 16
  • Armor Rating: 30
  • Ability: Vanquisher Heavy Turret (40 energy; calls down a turret with a powerful anti-tank cannon that fires at long range and has a large area-of-effect, and penetrates armor)
    • Like the Mordian Armor, the Armageddon one focuses everything on its massive turret. Unlike the Mordian, however, the Vanquisher turret from the Armageddon-Pattern Armor is reasonably good. Though neither very accurate or powerful, the Vanquisher cannon of this turret has both area-of-effect damage and armor penetration, which places it well above the Mordian Armor. Though not as useful or cost-effective as the lighter turrets, it's quite effective if placed correctly and can be extremely handy if used right. Note, however: The Armageddon-Pattern Armor has even less damage protection, however, and no traits, which further restrain how useful it can be.

• The Black Plate - Achievement Unlock: Clear up to Wave 10 while holding both strategic points.
  • Armor Rating: 125
  • Trait: Black Armor (50% Damage from all melee attacks).
    • Once this is obtained, it's the most protective armor in the entire game for the Lord General, though it provides none of the myriad benefits of other armors. Still, due to its raw defense, it's one of the more reliably useful ones, and gives him excellent survivability where he otherwise wouldn't have it.

Weapons

• Sniper Rifle - Default
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 8.0 DPS
    • A Default Weapon, but this one is actually fairly powerful. It still sucks compared to what's available even at the start however.

• Deadly Sniper Rifle - Level 1
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 12.0 DPS
  • +1 Energy regen
  • Ability: High-Powered Shot (25 Energy, Shoot a long-range anti-infantry shot)
    • This weapon is terrifying both for its meaty regen rate, massive damage per shot, phenomenal range, and ability that lets it fire off a very powerful round for high damage against a single target. It's very useful early on, can be fired very effectively from inside buildings, and has excellent precision - all factors that conspire to make it one of the best weapons the Lord General gets. Unfortunately, the Sniper Rifle has a horrid fire rate, so it leaves the Lord General incredibly vulnerable to being overrun.

• Bolter - Level 1
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 9.0 DPS
  • Traits: Zealous (Any attacks the Lord General makes recovers health up to 25% of the damage caused), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
    • The Bolter is a mediocre ranged weapon that can give some survivability via the weapon's Zealous trait, since each shot you land heals the Lord General slightly. It also gives Bolters to any attached Guardsman Squad, and though the actual damage this gives the squad is only a slight upgrade, it's still better than their base lasguns. Overall, a good early-game choice that tends to slide into irrelevance as better becomes available.

• Flamer - Level 1
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 6.0 DPS
  • Traits: Ignore Cover (Attacks with flamer cannot take cover from damage), Area of Effect (Flamer attacks in large radius), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
    • You're not taking this weapon for its use on the Lord General, though his position often means it's a fun option. The main reason you're taking this is to back it up with Guardsman squads, who will also get these weapons, and thus will allow you to triple-stack flamers in order to quickly melt through packs of oncoming mooks. Flamers are an excellent early option and one that retains its effectiveness throughout the Lord General's career, and are one of the more reliable special weapons as well, making them definitely worth using.

• Inspiring Power Sword - Level 1
  • Melee Weapon
  • 19.0 DPS
  • Traits: Inspiring (Attacks with power sword increase damage and speed of nearby allies), Armor Piercing (Attacks with the power sword can ignore armor values up to 100), Melee Charge (Any charges towards an enemy knocks the enemy down)
    • Melee Lord General builds are rare, but this weapon and the other Power Sword exist to make good use of them. Backed with the Medallion Crimson and Duelist Honors, the Inspiring Power Sword can actually inflict an ungodly amount of damage - almost as much as a kitted-out Space Marine Captain, in fact. Pair yourself with strong melee allies that will get stuck in alongside you (such as a Hive Tyrant's minions or your own Ogryns), and this weapon will quickly show you how powerful it can be if used right.

• Protective Power Sword - Level 6
  • Melee Weapon
  • 10.0 DPS
  • +50 Armor
  • Ability: Clear Out (25 Energy, strike ground to cause radial damage and knockdown.
  • Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks with the power sword can ignore armor values up to 100), Melee Charge (Any charges towards an enemy knocks the enemy down)
    • Whereas the Inspiring Sword is the powerful melee weapon, the Protective is a versatile one. It's still quite strong, and has armor-piercing, but has no special attack chance. Instead, the Protective Sword can use a tiny AOE melee ability that throws enemies around, and gives a meaty defense bonus. Paired with the Black Plate, this can give the Lord General remarkable survivability against enemies that would otherwise be threatening, such as Banshees and Hormagaunts.

• Grenade Launcher - Level 13
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 5.5 DPS
  • Ability: Blind Grenade Volley (20 Energy, fires a volley of Blind Grenades, stunning nearby enemies)
  • Traits: Knockdown (Attacks with Grenade Launcher knock down enemies), Area of Effect (Grenade Launcher attacks in large radius), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
    • Easily the best Guardsman Wargear Package weapon, the Grenade Launcher boasts a host of useful advantages: Indirect fire, knockdown power, and blast effects just to name a few. Even better, it gives the use of a special attack in Blind Grenade Volley, which can be a godsend when it comes to helping allies in the field, and gives the General a weapon with Wargear Package that's actually worth taking on its own merits. When you need a weapon that can knock down, cause AOE damage, and fire over obstacles, you've got something of a winner, and its long range atop this is just gravy. Absolutely worth using, especially alongside the Heavy Bolter Turret Armor.

• Plasma Gun - Level 18
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 7.3 DPS
  • Traits: Armor Piercing (Plasma Gun attacks ignore armor ratings up to 100), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
    • At a glance, the prospect of a Plasma Gun for the General seems awesome. Unfortunately, the one for Last Stand isn't all that great. It has no special abilities attached, isn't that good a standalone weapon, and is generally an extremely poor weapon outside of its element (attacking heavy infantry and vehicles). Against almost anything else, every weapon the General has that isn't his basic Laspistol will do more damage - a fact true for the Guardsman variant as well. Whilst this weapon absolutely rocks for later waves in Bloodied Coliseum and late-game Anvil of Khorne in general, the bulk of the levels it's more of a hindrance than an advantage, though it can be extremely effective should you stack damage boosting abilities (Medallion Crimson, Take Aim!, Commissar).

• Ornate Vostroyan Shotgun - DLC
  • Ranged Weapon
  • 10.5 DPS
  • Ability: Solid Slug (25 Energy, fires a solid slug at the target, causing big damage and knockback). Has a small area-of-effect.
  • Traits: Area of Effect (Shotgun attacks in large radius)
    • Fantastic weapon, and one of the best alternatives, at the endgame phase, to the Deadly Sniper Rifle. Though this weapon is weaker per-shot, has a much shorter range, and has a weaker special attack, it fires much faster, has AOE damage, and an ability that's basically a weaker version of High-Powered Shot. All of these conspire to make it one of the nicer weapons for use with non-guardsmen.

Accessories

• Honorifica Imperialis - Level 1
  • +25 Armor, +2 Health Regen
    • This is a very good item for solo Lord Generals, as it makes them considerably more survivable. Humorously, you can use this item to achieve 200 Armor with the Imperial General if you stack this with the Black Plate/Cadian Armor and the Protective Power Sword.

• Refractor Field - Level 2
  • Ability: Refractor Field (25 Energy, Projects a field around the Lord General, allowing nearby allies to reduce the damage they take from ranged weapons.
    • Incredibly useful when it becomes available due to the General's frailty, giving him roughly twice the survivability against ranged weapons - and it both covers minions/allies and stacks with the likes of the Tau Commander's Shield Drone and cover benefits. Whilst not quite as potent as the Sorcerer's scrolls, Refractor Field will actually travel with the General, making it quite useful.

• Medallion Crimson - Level 3
  • Traits: Combat Expert (Lord General gets +30% Melee and Ranged damage)
    • The only way to boost your offense other than Duelist's Honors. Effects all weapons, as well as abilities like Rocket Run, High-Powered Shot, and Clear Out. One of the best overall wargear options for its level, since everyone needs offense.

• Repair - Level 7
  • Ability: Repair (20 Energy, repairs targeted vehicle or structure)
    • Worthless. Whilst repairing one of the towers or such on Coliseum or Anvil may be a cool idea, the bigger reason to use it - to repair turrets - is moot when you can deploy another Missile or Heavy Bolter turret for a scant 5 energy more than Repair costs. Ultimately a waste of an accessory slot on a class which already needs all of them.

• Sergeant - Level 9
  • All Minion squads get a sergeant equipped.
  • Traits: Minion Battle Hardened (Minion Squads gain +100 Health and +2 Health Regen)
    • Incredible survivability upgrade, that adds not only a bonus to your squad, but gives them a specific leader unit that provides extra firepower and an added squad member, which means the survivability it gives the squad is actually much higher than it originally appears. Humorously, whilst Guardsmen yield a normal sergeant with chainsword and laspistol, Catachans get a Catachan Sergeant with a bolt pistol, Ogryns get a Bone 'Ead with a Ripper Gun, and Stormtroopers get a Stormtrooper Sergeant with a Hot-Shot Laspistol.

• Reinforce - Level 11
  • Ability: Reinforce (10 Energy, signal Valkyrie to deploy a reinforcement to troops within the area.
    • Reinforce is just bad, for the same reason Repair is: It's far easier to just call in a new squad and not have to devote an accessory slot to this ability. Unlike Repair, this one is actually energy-efficient, since reinforcing costs less than replacing the squad, but it's still not worth devoting one of a very-contested item slot for.

• Commissar - Level 14
  • All Minion squads get a Commissar equipped.
  • Traits: Minion Combat Expert (Minions get +30% melee and ranged damage)
    • Gives a nice bonus to your minions' offense and adds a Commissar with a Bolt Pistol and Power Sword to the squad. As is the case for the Sergeant, this expotentially boosts the survivability and damage output of the squad as well, since the added Commissar counts as an added squad member. Works especially well with Guardsmen and Ogryns, but has a tendency to cause an AI Bug for the Catachans in which they will throw grenades far less often.

• Take Aim - Level 17
  • Ability: Take Aim! (20 Energy, Grant ally temporary, but significant damage boost)
    • Excellent ability. Cast it on your allies or minions to crank their damage output, or on yourself to improve your own. It even bolsters special attacks like High-Powered Shot. For maximum lulz, cast it on a Chaos Sorcerer or Mekboy and watch the resulting insanity unfold.

• Rocket Run - Level 19
  • Ability: Rocket Run (50 Energy, Valkyrie swoops in for rocket pod runs, causing a line of explosions that cause catastrophic damage and knockback to everything in the blast range.)
    • This is the ability worth taking Lord General through its paces for: An airstrike that utterly wrecks any target caught in the open, and can one-shot the wave 16 and wave 20 foes of Bloodied Coliseum. Be forewarned, however: It's the most expensive such ability in the game and will leave the Lord General with minimal energy, even under the best of circumstances. However, like the Mekboy's Roks, it's so powerful that there's just almost no reason to not take it along.

• Duelist Honors - Achievement Unlock: Kill 2500 enemies
  • Trait: Duelist (Increases melee damage by +40%
    • Melee Lord Generals behold: This is your upgrade. It stacks with Medallion Crimson to make the Lord General - ironically - one of the hardest-hitting melee combatants in the game when using the Inspiring Power Sword. The weaker Protective Power Sword isn't quite as good with this upgrade, but it can still make excellent use of it, since the benefits also effect Clear Out - as does the Medallion Crimson. Ranged Generals, however, benefit virtually nil from this.

• Ursidae Trophy - DLC
  • Traits: Minion Inspired Will (All Minions gain +15 health), Superior Provisions (All turrets gain +150 Health).
    • This interesting little upgrade gives a basic health boost to your minions, and gives a sizable health buff to your turrets. Early on, this is incredibly handy for further bolstering both your turret and your minions, but as time goes on, it slowly loses its appeal as the Commissar becomes available and the added survivability and damage the squad gets from the Commissar generally outclasses the durability boost the turret gets. There are exceptions, of course - if you use the Vanquisher Turret, the Ursidae Trophy can pay for itself by simple virtue of keeping the powerful anti-tank turret in the field that much longer.

Commander Items

• Guardsmen - Level 5
  • Ability: Deploy Guardsmen (35 Energy, Deploys a squad of Guardsmen to be Minions)
  • Traits: Minion Weapon Specialist (Can equip weapons that the Lord General has)
    • Guardsmen are basic - they have poor health and survivability without upgrades, and they have poor damage overall. However, they have the highest squad size and can use some of the Lord General's goodies when he uses certain weapons. Bolter gives them much better early-game damage, whereas the Flamer gives them both AOE and an answer to melee foes. Grenade Launcher gives them blast effects, range, and knockdown, whilst Plasma lets them fight armor. They get much better when led by a Sergeant and/or Commissar, so use them well.

• Catachans - Level 10
  • Ability: Deploy Catachans (35 Energy, Deploys a squad of Catachan Jungle Fighters to be Minions)
  • Traits: Minion Knockdown (Can knock enemies down), Minion Explosives Expert (Catachans occasionally throw grenades)
    • Catachans don't get weapon upgrades and have a slightly smaller squad size, but they do much more damage, are good in close-combat, have weapons that possess knockback, and periodically chuck demolition charges. With a Commissar, the damage of their Shotguns and melee attacks can really surprise you, and their grenades will reliably wipe squads of lesser foes, whilst a Sergeant will make them remarkably tough. Unfortunately, they tend to suffer an AI glitch where Catachans that have a Commissar will throw grenades less often.

• Ogryns - Level 15
  • Ability: Deploy Ogryns (35 Energy; deploys a squad of Ogryns to be minions)
  • Traits: Minion Healthy (Ogryns have increased health)
    • Ogryns are the toughest minion you get and one of the more interesting. Though they have a painfully limited squad size, they do heavy damage and are massive damage sponges. They are especially unique in that the Sergeant for them is a 33% offensive improvement, as well as a defensive buff; throwing on both the Sergeant and Commissar can result in their damage output and survivability improving dramatically. More so than the other minions, Ogryns tend to wander off to do their own thing; Generals needing a minion more willing to bunker down are encouraged to look elsewhere, but those planning to capitalize on close-combat will love the damned oafs.

• Storm Troopers - Level 20
  • Ability: Deploy Stormtroopers (35 Energy, Deploys a squad of storm troopers to be Minions), Tactical Withdrawal (6 Energy, lets the Lord General flee from the area)
  • Traits: Special Ops (-25% Energy Costs)
    • Ironically, despite being pretty good individually, Storm Troopers are one of the weakest minions, even with a built-in Hot-Shot Lasgun upgrade. This is because of their tiny squad size. However, the reason one uses Storm Troopers isn't their contributions to a fight - it's their passives. Storm Troopers give the only mobility upgrade the Lord General gets, as well as an ability that decreases all energy costs for absolutely everything the Lord General uses. This allows them to reign in how much dropping turrets or High-Powered Shots cost, and can make Rocket Run much more viable. As is the case for the Hive Tyrant's Synapse, this advantage cannot be overlooked, and completely changes the scope of how one can use the Lord General. Do note, however, that the Retreat ability the General gets tends to bug out a bit; you can still be hit by melee attacks during it.